WASHINGTON DC: The FBI is alerting the public to a surge in cybercriminals posing as financial institutions in order to seize control of bank, payroll and health-related accounts, part of what investigators described as a sharp rise in account takeover fraud. Since January 2025, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has received more than 5,100 reports, representing losses that now exceed US$262mil (RM1bil).
FBI officials said criminals carry out the schemes by pretending to be bank employees or by creating websites that closely resemble legitimate financial institutions, tricking people into handing over sensitive login information. The goal of these criminals is to gain full access to a person’s online account and drain funds before the activity is detected, according to investigators.
